Mayo Clinic publishes second edition of The Mayo Clinic Diet to help people shed weight, stay trim

December 14, 2016

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic will publish the second edition of The Mayo Clinic Diet with all-new menu plans and recipes on Jan. 1. The book offers effective methods to adopt simple, enjoyable, practical, safe and healthy behaviors to lose unwanted pounds and, most importantly — keep them off for good. The Mayo approach is based on years of research and clinical experience.

“We created the second edition of The Mayo Clinic Diet for two reasons,” says Donald Hensrud, M.D., medical editor of The Mayo Clinic Diet and the director of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program. “First, we want to keep up with and include new research and information to help people better manage their weight. Second, we wanted to respond to readers’ requests for new helpful features.”

The Mayo Clinic Diet is designed as a lifestyle program ― not a traditional diet. With two easy-to-follow phases, it offers practical and flexible approaches to shedding pounds and keeping them off. The new edition offers:

New recipes.

Four weeks of new meal plans designed by Mayo Clinic’s weight management and nutrition experts.

New tables that help people create salads and entrees tailored to their tastes.

Tips for overcoming common weight management challenges.

Help in starting an exercise plan.

Overall encouragement for success.

The diet is simple by design to help people start and continue to manage weight long term.

The Mayo Clinic Diet begins with a Quick Start plan. The Lose It! phase is designed to help dieters lose 6 to 10 pounds in the first two weeks.

“We know people want to lose weight and lose it quickly, so, by changing habits suddenly, they start to see results and feel empowered to continue on their journey to a healthier weight,” Dr. Hensrud says.

The Lose It! phase includes adding five habits, breaking five habits and adopting five bonus habits.

The second step is the Live It! Phase, to turn those new habits into a lifestyle. This phase is designed to help dieters continue to lose 1 to 2 pounds each week until they reach their desired healthy weight and sustain it.

Live It! offers a customized guide to the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid and Mayo Clinic Healthy Dining Table. The Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid is based on the concept that eating generous amounts of plant foods, such as vegetables and fruits, will lead to better weight management and improved health. The Mayo Clinic Healthy Dining Table shows the portions of different food groups to include in a healthy diet.

To help dieters track their goals and succeed with weight loss, The Mayo Clinic Diet Journal is available as a companion to The Mayo Clinic Diet. Like the diet, the journal includes a Lose It! quick-start section to monitor habits and a Live It! section to record daily eating and exercise.

“The fact that two-thirds of all Americans are overweight or obese shows how challenging weight management is,” Dr. Hensrud says. “We all have our own challenges, but it’s not impossible to overcome them.”